Artemis
"So, what exactly is the plan?" :-Artemis in "Motherhood" Artemis, Goddess of the Moon, The Hunt, the Harvest, as well as Patron Goddess of the Amazons was a Greek goddess and daughter of Zeus. (YH: "Inn Trouble") She was the patron goddess of Syros. (HTLJ: "The Apple"). She was also considered "one of the Greatest of all Olympians." (XWP: "To Helicon and Back") History Artemis was the daughter of Zeus and Hera. She was the older twin sister of Apollo, as well as also the younger half sister of such olympians as Athena and the Fates and older sister to her twin Apollo, Aphrodite, Ares, Discord and Hephaestus. She considered herself a "jock," and often fought with her sisters Athena and Aphrodite, to which she was the middle child. She offered Iolaus the opportunity to become the greatest hero in the world if he voted for her in a beauty contest against Athena and Aphrodite. Iolaus chose Aphrodite instead. At one point in time, she was at able to do over 10,000 push-ups a day, but then she became out of shape and could only do 10,000. (HTLJ: "The Apple") Amazon legend purports that the Amazon Nation was founded by Artemis (XWP: "Path of Vengeance"). Dead Amazons would be burned in a funeral pyre and immediately be sent to Artemis. (XWP: "Hooves and Harlots") :Amazon High and Lifeblood show the true origin of the Amazons and Artemis is not present. She may have gotten involved later or acted behind-the-scenes, the latter of which is more likely. Ares foresaw the breakup of the Amazon Nation into separate tribes, as well as warned Artemis of this, but she did not prevent it for unknown reasons. (XWP: "Path of Vengeance") After separate tribes were created, Artemis gave the Shimax tribe a remnat of the Kronos stone in order to prevent certain gods from taking over the tribes. (HTLJ: "Love, Amazon Style") Punishments According to an ancient story, King Liberius affronted the goddess by hunting in her sacred forest. She turned the king into a deer for a brief period, before realizing he had learned from his mistake and transformed him back. (XWP: "Is There a Doctor in the House?") Roles One of her devotees was Kora, who prepared her harvest offerings for Delos. When Strife and Discord stole Artemis's harvest offering, Kora was put in charge of investigating the theft. This was one of the first times that Hercules realized that the Gods can be unfair. He was framed for the theft by Strife and Discord, but Hercules was able to convince her that he did not steal the food and proved that it was Strife and Discord. She severely punished the two gods for their theft. She displayed a sense of fairness somewhat unlike her siblings and rewarded Kora, Hercules, Iolaus, as well as Jason with a "money-melon" full of dinars for their trouble. (YH: "Inn Trouble") The basilisk Ruff was placed under the protection of Artemis on her sacred island. (YH: "Mysteries of Life") When Iolaus was chosen to judge a beauty contest between Artemis, Athena and Aphrodite, Artemis offered Iolaus the ability to be a greater warrior than even Hercules, or the greatest wrestler or runner. In the end, Artemis lost out to Aphrodite. (HTLJ: "The Apple") Velasca blamed Artemis for the decline of the Amazon Nation and as God of Chaos, destroyed her temple. (XWP: "A Necessary Evil") When Hera released several Titans, Artemis turned Gabrielle into a giant bird in order to enlist the help of Xena in combatting these Titans. She joined Zeus, Iolaus, Xena, Gabrielle, Aphrodite and Ares in fighting the Titans, but was transformed into a rabbit by Hera. This was later reversed. (The Battle for Mt. Olympus) After her bow was stolen from the Temple of Artemis by Autolycus, she sent Hermes to contact Hercules about retrieving it. Autolycus sold it to Discord. Hercules later returned the bow to Artemis. (HTLJ: "Porkules") Warrior Priestesses from her temple attempted to kill Xena and Eve in order to prevent the Twilight of the Gods, they, of course, failed. (XWP: "Eternal Bonds") She was the mother of Bellerophon (which contradicts the original mythology which stated that she was a virgin goddess). (XWP: "To Helicon and Back") Unless, of course, he was born of immaculate conception, as there was no mention of a father in the episode. When Xena invaded the Great Hall of Olympus, Artemis attempted to kill her with two arrows, but Xena caught them, as well as threw them both back, killing the goddess. (XWP: "Motherhood") Bellerophon, perhaps mistakenly, blamed Amazons for abandoning her during the Twilight and swore on his mother's grave to avenge her death. (XWP: "To Helicon and Back") After her death, she visited her brother Ares, now mortal, in a dream and told him of the Amazon's secret ambrosia, guessing the events that would transpire involving Aphrodite and a certain Caligula in the near future. (XWP: "Coming Home") Powers As an Olympian God Artemis possesses Immortality and a broad range of magical ability. As the Goddess of the hunt Artemis, possesses special arrows that can turn any mortal or normal god into an animal. She is also an expert archer, as well as never misses a shot. She is also depicted to have the ability to transform people into animals with great ease, though other gods may possess the same ability, none ever demonstrated it. ''Gallery'' '' File:Artemis_apple.jpg|In "The Apple" File:Artemis_apple_02.jpg|In "The Apple" File:Apple_10.jpg|With Athena, Aphrodite and Iolaus in "The Apple" artemis i.jpg|With Iolaus in "The Apple" Artemis.jpg|needs citation Animated Artemis.jpg|Animated Artemis artemisxena1.jpg|In "Motherhood" artemisxena2.jpg|In "Motherhood" Artemisxena3.jpg|needs citation artemis statue.jpg|needs citation Artemis1.jpg|needs citation Artemis with bow and arrow.jpg|Artemis in "Motherhood" Artemis...jpg|Artemis or Artemisa '' Appearances * HTLJ: "The Apple" * Hercules and Xena - The Animated Movie: The Battle for Mt. Olympus * YH: "Inn Trouble" * XWP: "Motherhood" Related Articles * Artemis' Bow Category:Characters Category:Children of Zeus Category:Gods Category:Olympians Category:Animals Category:XWP villains Category:Mothers